Why Asthma's On The Rise And The New Asthma Treatments

[damon harvey]

The incidence of asthma has more than doubled - from 3% to 7.5% since
1980. Believe it or not, nearly 25 million people in the United States
are asthma sufferers. And while there's no shortage of theories about
why asthma is becoming a major health concern, there is a shortage of
definite answers. Which has led many people to ask why is asthma on
the rise, especially in urban neighborhoods, and are there any new
asthma treatments?
The two questions actually go hand in hand. Many new asthma treatments
have been developed based upon the various theories doctors have come
up with to explain asthma's rise. In this light, this article is a
look at some of the answers to "why is asthma on the rise and are
there new treatments?"
Let's start off with a theory that might sound odd the first time you
hear it. Some doctors have come to believe asthma's growing prevalence
is actually due to our better health. Because there are far fewer
major diseases requiring the attention of our immune systems, these
doctors believe our immune systems overreact to minor stressors such
as allergens, which trigger histamines and other inflammatory agents
in the lungs. Once the lungs become inflamed, bringing the condition
under control again can be a major effort.
There are other theories, of course. Even though air quality in
general has improved, there are more people than ever living in urban
settings where they're overly exposed to the allergens that commonly
trigger asthma - cockroaches, dust mites, mold and secondhand smoke.
Add to that the fact that children lead far more sedentary lives than
they used to, and spend far more time indoors where they're exposed to
allergens, and we can begin to see that one reason asthma is on the
rise maybe because children are exposed to the allergens far more
often these days.
New asthma treatments go beyond medicine to a whole new way of looking
at this disease and its management. Rather than focusing on crisis
management of acute asthma attacks, new asthma treatments emphasize
managing the disease by controlling the environment and daily
medication to reduce the risk of acute attacks. These new treatments
include once a day oral medications for children with chronic asthma,
daily maintenance inhalers, education about asthma triggers and
allergens for those dealing with asthma and outreach efforts that
involve entire communities.
While there's been a great deal of research on asthma and asthma
medications over the past twenty years, there have been few new drugs
developed for treatment. This is primarily due to the success of the
current inhaler drugs. They work extremely well as long as they're
used everyday as prescribed. However, because so many asthma sufferers
tend to ignore their doctor's instructions, a major component of this
new approach to treating asthma is to educate patients and families
about what asthma is and how to prevent asthma attacks.
The good news is that according to the Centers for Disease Control,
this new approach to treating asthma with education as well as
medication does pay off. In a recent study conducted by the National
Institute of Environmental Health Services, researchers found that
children whose families were taught about asthma and how to manage
asthma through environmental control had 37.8 more days per year
without any symptoms than those who were treated in the hospital,
given a prescription, and sent on their way.